This product is like a bad romance; it’s alright to have a bit of it, but in large amounts, it brings trouble.

The Ultra Facial Defense sunscreen has SPF 50+ and PPD rating of 26.4. It is a mixed sunscreen with titanium dioxide, L’Oreal’s Mexoryls XL & SX, and other chemical filters. It is very moisturising; it has quite a lot of glycerine in it — also, no alcohol and fragrance.

This sunscreen reminds me of La Roche-Posay’s Anthelios Ultralight, of course, if you apply thin layers of it. It leaves a bit of white cast, the finish is elegant and doesn’t clog pores. I like using this sunscreen in small amounts, one or two thin layers, and in winter, I find it enough. However, if you try to use it in in proper amounts, I mean somewhere around half a teaspoon the problems begin to rise. 

I cannot apply it like other sunscreens. Each time I tried using anything around half a teaspoon of this sunscreen, it left a white cast and made my skin very shiny. The worst part was that it always broke me out, almost instantly within hours I could see whiteheads developing. These are the results in cold weather, and I cannot imagine wearing this sunscreen during hot summer. SkinCeuticals claim that the Ultra Facial Defense is lightweight, but I don’t find it this way. It has a creamy texture that perhaps is lighter than of an average sunscreen, but nothing out of the ordinary. Having said that, I believe it would be great for people with dry skin, as it is pretty moisturising.

Overall, this sunscreen provides proper sun protection and hydration. It works well in small amounts, but in this way, you won’t get the full protection offered by this product. I don’t think I will return to this one, as it doesn’t work for my skin type. It is a good sunscreen for people with dry skin only; it isn’t lightweight, and it has too much glycerine for me. 

Ingredients:

AQUA / WATER . ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATE . DROMETRIZOLE TRISILOXANE . GLYCERIN . PROPYLENE GLYCOL . DIMETHICONE . TITANIUM DIOXIDE [NANO] / TITANIUM DIOXIDE . ALCOHOL DENAT . PENTYLENE GLYCOL . TEREPHTHALYLIDENE DICAMPHOR SULFONIC ACID .DIETHYLAMINO HYDROXYBENZOYL HEXYL BENZOATE. TRIETHANOLAMINE . BIS-ETHYLHEXYLOXYPHENOL METHOXYPHENYL TRIAZINE . STEARIC ACID. POTASSIUM CETYL PHOSPHATE . TOCOPHEROL . SODIUM COCOYL SARCOSINATE . PHENOXYETHANOL . PEG-100 STEARATE . PALMITIC ACID . XANTHAN GUM . TROMETHAMINE . CAPRYLYL GLYCOL . CARBOMER . DISODIUM EDTA . CETYL ALCOHOL . BUTYLENE GLYCOL . BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII SEEDCAKE EXTRACT / SHEA BUTTER SEEDCAKE EXTRACT. ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE . GLYCERYL STEARATE (skinceuticals.it).

The Ultra Facial Defense costs €40 (30ml); available from SkinCeuticals’ stockists.